The Tunisians and lost petroleum

Tunisians are looking for petroleum in their country. This initiative was launched by the opposition Progressive Democratic Party and was met with a strong response on various social networking sites. The party’s initiative has garnered a great deal of support from a number of civil society organisations and energy experts, and was even defended warmly by former President Moncef Marzouki, who spoke about “the mobility of the people”. There has also been a demonstration, which brought together thousands of citizens, all of whom gathered in Habib Bourguiba Street to demand that the government discuss the issue of petroleum among other public resources in Tunisia.

In many ways, this initiative has proven to be an intelligent step in terms of how it looks on the outside and it has also shown that the revolutionary spirit of 14 January 2011 has yet to be extinguished, as many had assumed it had. There are voices that are still calling out for change; there are social movements that still possess the desire to continue working in order to change the status quo. One could argue that in today’s Tunisia, no single person, party or authority has the right to close the door on any portfolio without the consent of the broad majority in the country.

With that said, the initiative, which has adopted the slogan “Where is our Petroleum?” begs us to ask many disturbing questions. The Tunisians must hold their leaders accountable for every action, no matter how big or small; if they do not, they will regret the outcomes because tyranny and oppression will return and sweep over their lives and their government institutions. Oppression will take the air that they breathe and the water that they drink. They cannot risk hiding their dreams under the umbrella of false slogans.

Yet, it seems that the energy portfolio in Tunisia must be treated differently in order to avoid placing the country’s citizens in a maze that will not produce defined results; one which will prevent them from achieving what they want and from protecting their vital interests. The data that is collected must be used to encourage the creation of a realistic campaign; that is, that one cannot believe the lies that Algeria and Libya are swimming in seas of oil, while neighbouring Tunisian does not have similar resources.

Such observations are superficial and ignore arguments that have suggested that oil wells already exist in Tunisia but have been hidden intentionally. The future may reveal the presence of new wells in Tunisia but this speculation will remain a mere hypothesis and will not be explored until Tunis has no other option. Many have also argued the possibility that French oil companies have smuggled large quantities of Tunisian oil out of the country with the complicity of the local authorities. This theory probably needs more evidence to back it up.

The political struggles and rivalries that are entrenched around the issue of Tunisia’s oil could bear serious consequences for Tunisian society and push the country towards a crisis when the time comes to determine which oil companies will invest in the drilling process. The head of Ennahda Party, Rachid Al-Ghannouchi, sees the petroleum campaign as the prime opportunity to criminalise the actions of businessmen; however, one should not promote the false message that the country is swimming in a sea of oil because it is neither Algeria nor Saudi Arabia.

The only result that can come out of this initiative is once again to promote transparency between the Tunisian people and the government by allowing public opinion to prompt change and gain access to the truth. The nascent Tunisian democracy will not be able to stand on its own two feet as long as there are many parties interfering in its affairs and progress. This must all be taken to consideration if we want to gain a sense of legitimacy.

Translated from Al-Araby Al-Jadid, 2 June, 2015.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.